Observations on the state of things…
How Your Peloton Bike Calculates Speed
Among the metrics displayed on your Peloton screen is "speed", presented in MPH with no explanation. I have been a daily Peloton rider for years, and I have always wondered how that speed is calculated. Recently, I though it would be nice to know how many watts I'd...
The Red Baron
a Biography of Rittmeister Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: In February 1999, when this page was originally posted, this was the Internet’s primary resource on the Red Baron. Wikipedia has pretty much put an end to pages like this, but I...
Bronco Bass Pickup Upgrade
Stock Bronco Bass So, I've got a Squire Bronco Bass and I think it was well bought ($150 at Guitar Center). Though it seems strangely light, it's well-balanced, and the neck has a good feel. The only real problem with it is that it is noisy. The tone is just fine when...
What I learned from my second Century
I wasn't completely sure I was going to be finishing the French Creek Iron Tour until I passed mile 80. Around mile 70 the course heads out of the wooded hills into farmland where the sun and the wind start to make you think, "how much do I really want this?" I really...
Why I wear a Lumos Helmet
My last helmet, a Giro Atmos II, made the ultimate sacrifice in a high-speed crash last October. I replaced it with a Lumos helmet, a high tech alternative with lights and Apple Watch integration. But is it really a step up?
French Creek Iron Tour
My First Century For my first century ride, I chose the French Creek Iron Tour. Of the local events I know about, this was actually the hardest (over 6,000 feet of climb). I picked it for two reasons: one is that it was fairly close to home so I didn’t have to get up...
Peloton Leaderboard – Numbers and Position
The Peloton leaderboard contains a great deal of information on how you're performing, both against others who are taking / have taken your class as well as how you've performed in the past. It's a fairly data-packed screen, so let's get into it... Exhibit A is my own...
Peloton’s Calibration Problem
If you’ve been a Peloton member for any length of time, you probably have been hearing about “calibration”. Not from Peloton, no. They hardly ever mention it. It is a topic in social media, though, and it seems that there is a widespread problem that Peloton may have...
Peloton and METs
Following up on my post about the Peloton display numbers (and a little arithmetic regarding Output), a visitor to the site asked about METs, so I thought I’d post a follow-up.... Calculating METs is unfortunately considerably more difficult than calculating output in...